Obama Says He Supports Same-Sex Marriage

[NumbersGirl]

Obama Supports Same-Sex Marriage

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports gay marriage, reversing his position on a controversial social issue just six months before the November election and adopting a stance fraught with political implications.

 

Mr. Obama had been under intense pressure this week to lay out a clear stance on gay marriage after Vice President Joe Biden and several top advisers endorsed it. Mr. Obama said he "personally" believes gays and lesbians should have the right to marry, a position he said he came to after several years of talking to friends and family and thinking about gay members of the military and of his staff who are raising children in monogamous relationships.

 

"I've been going through an evolution on this issue. I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally," Mr. Obama said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts. "At a certain point, I just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think that same-sex couples should be able to get married."

 

Mr. Obama was against same-sex marriage as a presidential candidate in 2008, but supported civil unions. In the fall of 2010, he said his views on gay marriage were "evolving," a stance that widely had been interpreted as moving toward an endorsement. The president had been asked numerous times afterward whether his position had changed. Each time he deflected the question and pointed to his record on other gay-rights issues.

 

On Wednesday, he said, "I had hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient."

 

"And I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word 'marriage' was something that invokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth," he said.

 

Mr. Obama's politically cautious stance had become untenable in recent days, in no small part because of the pro-gay marriage positions taken by Mr. Biden and other members of Mr. Obama's own cabinet.

 

Senior administration officials said Mr. Obama decided earlier this year that he wanted to publicly endorse gay marriage before the Democratic National Convention in September. Mr. Biden's comments and the subsequent fallout sped up the president's timetable, these officials said. The White House decided Tuesday morning that Mr. Obama would announce his endorsement in the TV interview, the officials said.

 

Mr. Obama's Wednesday announcement came a day after voters in North Carolina, the state hosting the Democratic National Convention this fall and one that the president hopes to win in November, voted overwhelmingly in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

 

Some 30 states have adopted gay-marriage bans, even though polls show views on the issue are shifting faster than for any other hot-button social issue.

 

Mr. Obama's injection of gay marriage into the 2012 presidential election poses potential risks and rewards for him.

 

A March Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 49% of Americans support gay marriage, an increase from 41% in 2009. Some 40% opposed gay marriage in the March poll.

 

Support among African-Americans, who are a key to the Obama campaign's re-election strategy, had been relatively low in the past. But views have evolved: The Journal poll found African-American support for gay marriage rose to 50% in March from 32% in 2009.

 

Mr. Obama's endorsement of gay marriage could energize young voters, who support gay marriage by a wide margin—it drew 57% support among people ages 18 to 34 in the Journal poll. In a report after her interview with Mr. Obama, Ms. Roberts said the president talked about being influenced by his young daughters.

 

Mr. Obama's position puts him squarely at odds with that of Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee. Mr. Romney has said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, a stance he repeated this week. Mr. Romney also opposes civil unions and has said he would back a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

 

Responding to questions at a campaign stop Wednesday in Oklahoma City, Mr. Romney said he believes states should make decisions about arrangements such as civil unions and partner benefits.

 

Some opponents of gay marriage are urging Mr. Romney to use the issue to try to energize socially conservative Republicans and increase voter turnout in November.

 

Mr. Biden had put Mr. Obama's position in the spotlight when he said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he is "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex couples getting married. Then on Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a friend of Mr. Obama's from Chicago, publicly endorsed same-sex marriage. Shaun Donovan, Mr. Obama's housing secretary, also has publicly said he supported gay marriage.

 

The string of endorsements raised fresh questions about Mr. Obama's position and sparked intensified calls from gay-rights activists for him to endorse gay marriage before November.

 

The scrutiny, which showed no signs of letting up, threw into doubt the belief among Mr. Obama's top aides that he could sustain his "evolving" position for another six months. Their presumption had been that he could afford not to endorse same-sex marriage because of his gay-rights record, which includes calling on Congress to repeal the federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, as well as repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military.

 

The president's view on gay marriage, while welcomed by some Democrats, also has the potential to divide his party. Some Democrats have been pushing for Mr. Obama to include support for gay marriage as a plank of the party platform when he accepts the nomination at the convention in September.

 

Mr. Obama's aides have said they intend to argue against including gay marriage as part of the platform by making the case that not all Democrats seeking election share that position, which could hurt them in some states and congressional districts. It is now unclear what the president's position will be.

 

link to article

 

interactive State-by-State law map

[Tash]

I think Obama is awesome!

[Tnspieler1012]

I love that most of America already thought this was true, so it's kind of 'what the fuck? you mean you were misleading us for 4 years?' lulz

[Italian Plastic]

wooo

[Caroline]

It's about time a President finally came out (ha!) in support. Most of the time they say they believe in civil unions to stay diplomatic, but that just a sorry pass. We know you're secretly for it!

[Coeurli]

Obama iz kewl :nod:

[micky011]

Obama Supports Same-Sex Marriage[/size][/b]

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports gay marriage, reversing his position on a controversial social issue just six months before the November election and adopting a stance fraught with political implications.

 

Mr. Obama had been under intense pressure this week to lay out a clear stance on gay marriage after Vice President Joe Biden and several top advisers endorsed it. Mr. Obama said he "personally" believes gays and lesbians should have the right to marry, a position he said he came to after several years of talking to friends and family and thinking about gay members of the military and of his staff who are raising children in monogamous relationships.

 

"I've been going through an evolution on this issue. I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally," Mr. Obama said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts. "At a certain point, I just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think that same-sex couples should be able to get married."

 

Mr. Obama was against same-sex marriage as a presidential candidate in 2008, but supported civil unions. In the fall of 2010, he said his views on gay marriage were "evolving," a stance that widely had been interpreted as moving toward an endorsement. The president had been asked numerous times afterward whether his position had changed. Each time he deflected the question and pointed to his record on other gay-rights issues.

 

On Wednesday, he said, "I had hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient."

 

"And I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word 'marriage' was something that invokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth," he said.

 

Mr. Obama's politically cautious stance had become untenable in recent days, in no small part because of the pro-gay marriage positions taken by Mr. Biden and other members of Mr. Obama's own cabinet.

 

Senior administration officials said Mr. Obama decided earlier this year that he wanted to publicly endorse gay marriage before the Democratic National Convention in September. Mr. Biden's comments and the subsequent fallout sped up the president's timetable, these officials said. The White House decided Tuesday morning that Mr. Obama would announce his endorsement in the TV interview, the officials said.

 

Mr. Obama's Wednesday announcement came a day after voters in North Carolina, the state hosting the Democratic National Convention this fall and one that the president hopes to win in November, voted overwhelmingly in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

 

Some 30 states have adopted gay-marriage bans, even though polls show views on the issue are shifting faster than for any other hot-button social issue.

 

Mr. Obama's injection of gay marriage into the 2012 presidential election poses potential risks and rewards for him.

 

A March Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 49% of Americans support gay marriage, an increase from 41% in 2009. Some 40% opposed gay marriage in the March poll.

 

Support among African-Americans, who are a key to the Obama campaign's re-election strategy, had been relatively low in the past. But views have evolved: The Journal poll found African-American support for gay marriage rose to 50% in March from 32% in 2009.

 

Mr. Obama's endorsement of gay marriage could energize young voters, who support gay marriage by a wide margin—it drew 57% support among people ages 18 to 34 in the Journal poll. In a report after her interview with Mr. Obama, Ms. Roberts said the president talked about being influenced by his young daughters.

 

Mr. Obama's position puts him squarely at odds with that of Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee. Mr. Romney has said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, a stance he repeated this week. Mr. Romney also opposes civil unions and has said he would back a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

 

Responding to questions at a campaign stop Wednesday in Oklahoma City, Mr. Romney said he believes states should make decisions about arrangements such as civil unions and partner benefits.

 

Some opponents of gay marriage are urging Mr. Romney to use the issue to try to energize socially conservative Republicans and increase voter turnout in November.

 

Mr. Biden had put Mr. Obama's position in the spotlight when he said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he is "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex couples getting married. Then on Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a friend of Mr. Obama's from Chicago, publicly endorsed same-sex marriage. Shaun Donovan, Mr. Obama's housing secretary, also has publicly said he supported gay marriage.

 

The string of endorsements raised fresh questions about Mr. Obama's position and sparked intensified calls from gay-rights activists for him to endorse gay marriage before November.

 

The scrutiny, which showed no signs of letting up, threw into doubt the belief among Mr. Obama's top aides that he could sustain his "evolving" position for another six months. Their presumption had been that he could afford not to endorse same-sex marriage because of his gay-rights record, which includes calling on Congress to repeal the federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, as well as repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military.

 

The president's view on gay marriage, while welcomed by some Democrats, also has the potential to divide his party. Some Democrats have been pushing for Mr. Obama to include support for gay marriage as a plank of the party platform when he accepts the nomination at the convention in September.

 

Mr. Obama's aides have said they intend to argue against including gay marriage as part of the platform by making the case that not all Democrats seeking election share that position, which could hurt them in some states and congressional districts. It is now unclear what the president's position will be.

 

link to article

 

interactive State-by-State law map

good say by Obama.

all over world same Same-Sex Marriage boys and girls.

all thank's for Obama.